In this week’s news wrap Tanzania has launched the country’s largest ever elephant collaring effort to protect its dwindling elephant population; Britain will ban the sale of ivory items regardless of their age in an effort to restrict the illegal ivory trade; Taiwan is to revise laws for a complete ban in ivory trade from 2020; two Chinese nationals have been held in Nepal with 162 kg of pangolin scales; fifty-eight years jail time has been handed down to rhino poachers; a report states that donkey skins are the new ivory; and Kenya’s tourism minister advocates life sentences for ivory possession.

In this week’s news wrap a giant elephant was killed by a Russian hunter – despite wearing a research collar; three rangers have drowned in Lower Zambezi; the South African DA says that the illegal abalone trade is fuelled by the Department of Agriculture; Kenya considers hunting as land-use model for community and private land; reports say that Grace Mugabe allegedly gifted ivory to Asian first ladies; five people were arrested over possession of elephant tusks valued at R600k; and a man has been jailed for 18 months over possession of elephant bones in Malawi.

In this week’s news wrap Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, has sadly passed away at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya; the fate of lion that mauled a woman to death at Kevin Richardson’s sanctuary remains undecided; African leaders call on EU to shut down ivory trade; and wildlife authorities in Zimbabwe have apprehended a villager in Hwange area for dealing in pangolin.

Meet little Mussa. He was recently rescued from poachers who killed his family for bushmeat. Now he is safely recovering at the Lwiro primate sanctuary, Centre de Rehabilitation des Primates de Lwiro (CRPL), in the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, Mussa is just one of the few lucky chimps to be saved from the hands of poachers.

In this week’s news wrap a report claims that the European Union is a major destination for illegally smuggled live snakes, lizards and tortoises from southern Africa; three bull elephants are killed after escaping Kruger National Park; poaching is threatening the survival of the magot monkey according to a report; and in two separate cases, approximately 2,800 kilograms of pangolin scales and 3.5 tons of ivory – both originating from Nigeria – have been seized by Hong Kong and Singapore custom officials respectively.

In two separate cases, approximately 2,800 kilograms of pangolin scales and 3.5 tons of ivory – both originating from Nigeria – have been seized by Hong Kong and Singapore custom officials respectively.

In this week’s news wrap a mass poisoning incident has left six lions and over 70 vultures dead near Ruaha National Park; a suspected poacher was killed by lions near Kruger National Park; and custom officials have seized rhino horns carved into Buddha statues in Hong Kong.

In this week’s news wrap a hunter was shot dead at a captive-bred lion hunting farm in South Africa; Hong Kong has voted to ban domestic ivory sales in a landmark move; around 600 kg of elephant tusks and 600 kg of pangolin scales were seized in Ivory Coast; US President Donald Trump has confirmed that he will not be lifting the ban on elephant trophies from Zambia and Zimbabwe; and 3.5 tons of hippo teeth went up for auction on Monday in Tanzania, despite criticism.

A Hong Kong ivory trader fined this week for illegal possession of ivory resigned on Wednesday from a government advisory panel to protect endangered species, a potentially embarrassing blow for a city fighting to stamp out smuggling of ivory.

In this week’s news wrap wildlife DNA is being used as evidence to foil poachers; bird flu has been found in wild birds around Western Cape, especially the swift tern; and a Hong Kong court fines ivory trader $1,000 for illegal trading as China cracks down on ivory trade.

With China announcing that it would shut down all ivory trade by the end of this year, concerns have been raised that Japan’s failure to prevent illegal ivory exports will undermine China’s prospective ban and the efforts to end the global trafficking of elephant tusks.

In this week’s news wrap two major conservation groups have called for the closure of Japan’s domestic ivory market; a lion cub was speared during what appears to be a human-wildlife conflict in Maasai Mara; 216 elephant tusks were seized in southeast Cameroon; and a recent study has revealed that pangolin smugglers are constantly opening up new global trade routes every year to avoid law enforcement agencies.

A lion cub from the famous Ridge Pride in Kenya’s Maasai Mara was speared during what appears to be a human-wildlife conflict incident. The cub was treated by a vet and seems to have made a full recovery.

In this week’s news wrap Chinese customs officials in Shenzhen have seized 11.9 tonnes of scales from endangered African pangolins; the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa (PHASA) has now approved canned lion hunting; a study reveals that trophy hunting may cause extinction in a changing environment; SANParks claims that some Kruger National Park rangers are collaborating with poachers; and staying in the Kruger, the Park and Mozambican authorities are now collaborating in a bid to clamp down on rhino poaching.

Over the past few months, Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park (HiP) in KwaZulu-Natal – managed by conservation agency Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife – has been hard hit by a significant escalation in rhino poaching. Ezemvelo has subsequently been hard at work developing more effective anti-poaching and resource management strategies. In support of this, Peace Parks Foundation has committed an additional R10,6 million towards the implementation of advanced technology solutions in this sacred rhino protection area.

Trophy hunting and other activities involving the targeting of high-quality male animals could lead to the extinction of certain species faced with changing environmental conditions, according to new research.

In this week’s news wrap an anti-poaching team celebrates success; US President Donald Trump calls elephant trophy hunting a “horror show”; the Trump administration is sued for allowing US hunters to import elephant and lion trophies; a woman’s body is found after a crocodile dragged her into river; and Mozambique ports have become the new export hub for ivory smugglers.

Whether tourism operators and armchair lion-lovers like it or not, there are now too many lions in some parts of the Kunene region. Trying to save the lions that are killing livestock, or harassing the farmers who kill them, including impounding their firearms, will not serve the interests of conservation in the region.

In this week’s news wrap four traffickers have been arrested in Ivory Coast after 53 elephant tails were seized; new blood as plans to introduce ten new cheetahs to a KwaZulu-Natal park is underway; rare cycads face increasing threats as they become a target for theft; almost 50 vultures are poisoned in the Kruger National Park; and distressing images of a pregnant rhino mother and calf killed by poachers.

In this week’s news wrap Liwonde National Park in Malawi celebrates the birth of the first cheetah cubs in 100 years; a report reveals over 6,000 lion skeletons have been exported to Asia in the last decade; African aquaculture is threatening native fish species; and good news for rhinos as 14 black rhinos are successfully moved from Kwa-Zulu Natal to a new private reserve to help with population growth.

In the middle of the sixth mass extinction, when 50% of the living species are at risk of extinction due to the ever growing, destructive human hands, the six rhinoceros species are at the tip of the pyramid, among the most endangered species on Earth.

In this week’s news wrap a report claims that over 250 elephants have died in Zimbabwe due to cyanide poisoning since 2013; South Korea clamps down on ivory smuggling; while North Korea is accused of rhino horn and ivory smuggling; a suspected poacher is injured by a rhino he was tracking; and questions are raised over Namibia’s killing of desert elephants.

In this week’s news wrap a Chinese rhino horn smuggler has been jailed for four years; South African veterinarians surgically lengthen the misaligned jaw of an adult male chimpanzee; 66 giraffes join thousands of other animals exported to China; and cheetah cubs continue to be sold on the UAE exotic pet black market via social media accounts.

The past few days have seen a report revealing how rhino horns are now being processed into trinkets for smuggling, the nine elephants that tragically died in a freak electrocution accident, the chaotic scenes of congestion on Kruger roads, and the announcement of the passing of an old bull elephant.

The past few days have seen a failed attempt to smuggle five rhino horns out of South Africa, a poacher sentenced to 20 years in jail, and SANParks suggesting that we pay an extra fee to visit national parks that have rhinos.

Hong Kong has always been regarded as the epicentre of the global wildlife trade. It appears however that this trade is not adequately controlled by authorities and may lead many species to the brink of extinction. Unfortunately many news headlines announce illegal elephant ivory and rhino horn trade being processed through Hong Kong’s borders. Many other […]

Three young men appeared in the Barkly West Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday for allegedly poaching an extremely rare black oryx, believed to be the only one of its kind in South Africa and valued at around R8 million.

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